NFL: Tebow in limbo after release by Jets

Here he was, perhaps the most popular player in the NFL, in New York as a member of the Jets and maybe the biggest thing to hit Broadway since Joe Namath.

And then it all went terribly wrong. Or, more like it, the whole idea was completely flawed from the start. For Tebow and for the Jets.

The Jets waived Tebow yesterday, the end of an unsuccessful one-season experiment in New York that had been expected for months.

“Unfortunately, things did not work out the way we all had hoped,” coach Rex Ryan said in a statement by the team in announcing the move.

Tebow, the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner, attempted just eight passes after his ballyhooed arrival in a surprising trade from the Denver Broncos in March 2012. He threw for 39 yards and rushed 32 times for 102 yards. He had no touchdowns as a member of the Jets.

Tebow arrived at the team’s facility in Florham Park, N.J., yesterday morning and was told he had been cut.

“Tim is an extremely hard worker, evident by the shape he came back in this offseason,” Ryan said. “We wish him the best moving forward.”

Tebow took to Twitter a few hours later, citing a bible verse: “Proverbs 3:5-6: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding,” Tebow wrote, “in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”

Now the question is what becomes of Tebow?

It appeared Jacksonville would be an obvious landing spot. But new Jaguars general manager David Caldwell nixed the idea at his introductory news conference earlier this year when he said he couldn’t “imagine a scenario in which he’ll be a Jacksonville Jaguar.”

Many believe Tebow’s best chance to stick in the NFL would be to switch positions. But he insists on playing quarterback.

Chicago could be a possibility since new coach Marc Trestman worked with Tebow before the NFL draft in 2010 and in the Senior Bowl and liked what he saw. He would be a backup there behind Jay Cutler, though. Tampa Bay, San Diego and New England might also be options.

Tebow could also head to Canada and play in the CFL. The Montreal Alouettes own his exclusive negotiating rights, but Anthony Calvillo, 40, is entrenched as the starting quarterback.